Why Did Indian Prime Minister Modi Gift A Cotton Scarf To G20 Leaders And What’s The Significance?

Why Did Indian Prime Minister Modi Gift A Cotton Scarf To G20 Leaders And What’s The Significance?

During the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Narendra Modi’s gesture of presenting world leaders with hand-spun scarves held deep historical and symbolic significance for the Indian Prime Minister. It was an effort to highlight India’s freedom movement on the international platform.

As the G20 leaders entered the Rajghat memorial dedicated to Mohandas K. Gandhi, the revered father of India’s independence who was assassinated in 1948, they were greeted with khadi scarves. These scarves were a vital symbol of his non-violent resistance movement that played a pivotal role in India gaining independence from British colonial rule.

Modi was seen draping the handwoven, off-white cotton scarves around the necks of leaders such as US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They posed for photographs in front of a large backdrop of the Sabarmati Ashram in the state of Gujarat, one of the many residences Gandhi had across India.

For Gandhi, who is globally recognized for his advocacy of peace and non-violence, khadi scarves represented self-reliance. They were garments that could be locally produced by Indians, advocating a boycott of imported or British-made products during India’s colonial era.

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This emphasized to Indians that they had the capability to develop their industrial potential, freeing the country from dependency on its former colonial rulers.

Gandhi often spun his own khadi clothing on a charkha, or spinning wheel, an emblematic device representing India’s political and economic emancipation.

At Rajghat on Sunday, world leaders stood in silence with the scarves around their necks, facing a raised marble platform, erected to commemorate the location of Gandhi’s cremation.

“As diverse nations converge, Gandhi Ji’s timeless ideals guide our collective vision for a harmonious, inclusive and prosperous global future,” Modi expressed on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat in New Delhi on September 10, 2023. Kenny Holston/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Gandhi’s enduring legacy has made a profound impact on Indian culture, with his image featured on every Indian rupee note, and numerous buildings, museums, streets, and landmarks named after him.

However, within Narendra Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gandhi’s legacy remains complex. The BJP traces its origins to the Rashtriya Swayam Sangh (RSS), a prominent Hindu-nationalist organization of which Modi is a member.

The RSS adheres to Hindutva, an ideology that favors the majority Hindus in India and envisions an explicitly Hindu state, in contrast to the secular state that Gandhi envisioned and helped establish.

Upon India’s independence from British rule in 1947, right-wing Hindu nationalists advocated for the division of British India into two separate states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Gandhi, on the contrary, opposed the partition and advocated for a united India embracing all faiths.

Less than a year later, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a former RSS member. In recent times, there has been a fringe movement that venerates Godse, seeking to rehabilitate his image as a Hindu nationalist figure.

Simultaneously, the BJP and its supporters have been accused of downplaying the legacy of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, a long-time admirer and ally of Gandhi.

Modi has unequivocally condemned the worship of Godse and consistently praised and paid tribute to Gandhi, both within India and internationally.

However, opposition politicians criticized Sunday’s memorial service, alleging a double standard. The newly formed INDIA alliance, a coalition of political parties aiming to unseat Modi in the upcoming general election, posted on social media, “Every RSS-BJP worker must watch this video. Your hero, Nathuram Godse, killed Mahatma Gandhi. For decades, you propagated falsehoods against Gandhi Ji. You yourselves are filled with hatred towards him and continue to diminish his contributions and spread lies about him.”

Credit: CNN